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Stand Up for Kids, San Diego
Day 2: Monday, March 28, 2006
By: Suzzy O’Donnell
Drexel University, Freshman Chemical Engineering
Today was a rather productive day here in
San Diego. Every woke up pretty early, got showered, grabbed
breakfast and we gathered together to make our plans for
the day. As a group we decided it would be nice to do some
things around the Outreach Center before heading out to
explore some more of beautiful San Diego. Everyone worked
together while listening to music and doing some “chores.”
Washing clothes, hanging up laundry, mopping floors, organizing
drawers and cleaning out the refrigerator were several of
the many goals that we achieved before heading out this
morning.
Once we finished cleaning, we all headed to Torrey Pines
for a picnic on the beach. After eating, the group split
up as some people went for a long walk while others just
relaxed in the beach. Although the weather was not exactly
beach weather, everyone seemed to enjoy being outside and
just being on the beach. Later, we worked our way up some
trails along beachside cliffs. Form the top of the cliffs,
the view of the beach and the ocean was absolutely amazing.
Overall, our day at the beach was a great opportunity for
everyone to bond and really get to know each other better.
We came home from the beach about an hour before the kids
were expected to arrive here at the Outreach Center. We
made dinner and prepared for our first real night of interacting
with the people here at StandUp. Around 5:30, the doors
were opened and there were several kids who came in to eat
dinner, take a little nap or clean up with a shower. It
was obvious that the kids come here often because they all
seemed to have a routine that they followed. For the most
part, the rest of the Drexel students and I felt very awkward
at first. We had a hard time going up to the kids and talking
to them because we were all very scared of either saying
the wrong things or even worse, not even knowing how to
begin a conversation. After talking, we decided to face
our fears and just try really hard to do what we could to
engage in conversation with the others. Many of us were
successful in conquering our fear and by the time the doors
closed at eight o’clock, many, if not all, of us had
heard something that really affected us in one way or another.
Personally, I was very touched by what I had seen and the
stories that I heard. There was one particular guy, a twenty-two
year old named Lee, who had “aged out” of the
program but still came back here to check in with the other
kids and to let everyone know that he was doing all right.
He was very talkative and almost immediately began telling
his sad story to basically anyone who was willing to listen.
In addition to sharing his stories, he had no shame in showing
his scars from where he shot drug needles into his arms
and burn marks that he had on his body as a result of trying
to release his anger. He talked for over half an hour and
I was absolutely amazed at the way that he repeated the
phrase “but at least I’m still living.”
I admired his optimism considering all that he had been
through in his life. From hearing his story and watching
the interaction of the other people at the center, I realized
that the kids here actually do want to talk and they are
willing to share their stories with us. At the end of the
night, I was amazed at how these kids can live their lives
the way that they do and still continue to smile and be
friendly while engaging in conversation with absolute strangers
such as myself. Watching all of the kids interact with one
another and feel so comfortably at ease here at the center
made me feel like I could actually make a difference during
the week that I will be here in California.
In addition to helping serve dinner and trying to start
up conversations with people, we also me some more volunteers
who are involved with the StandUp for Kids organization.
We were introduced to a woman named Karen who is promoting
the “Turn Purple” campaign that will take place
during the entire month of April. She gave us brochures
and talked to us about going to different churches, cafes
and restaurants in an effort to raise awareness and gather
the support of local vendors. We were also given a “wish
list” from Teri with Different tasks that she hopes
we can accomplish before we head back home to Philadelphia.
Among the wishes were finding grants that StandUp could
apply for, cleaning up different things, and also trying
to contact local radio stations and newspapers in an effort
to raise awareness of child abuse and homeless children
while gathering support of the community and letting them
know what StandUp for Kids is all about.
Once everyone had cleared out, the other nine students and
I had a short “debriefing” session where we
talking about the different things that we had seen, heard
and felt during the three hours that the kids were here.
It was obvious that everyone had been influenced in one
way or another. In addition to discussing our feelings,
we talked about ways to improved upon our conversational
skills and make the most of the next five days here at the
shelter.
In an effort to lighten the mood and spend some more time
getting to know one another, we headed to downtown San Diego
for ice cream sundaes at Ghirardelli. Once we finished with
our desserts, we have back to the shelter, watched a movie,
and got ready for bed, knowing that we will have yet another
busy day ahead of us tomorrow.
